On-site repair has always been important, but times are changing On-site repair has always been integral to plant and shop maintenance and business. However, in changing times, who does what—and how they do it—are changing as well. While traditional repairmen still make “house calls”, equipment end users in many industrial sectors are cutting back on […]

Utility drones are anything but boring Border States Electric of Fargo, N.D., announced an agency agreement with drone-maker eSmart Systems to provide the latter’s utility drone systems to customers in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. The two companies have been developing the technology for the utility and power generation industries for years. eSmart’s Thundercloud is […]

Secondary threats before and after the nation’s largest hurricane in a decade With Southeastern Texas, and specifically the Houston, Galveston, and Beaumont metro areas, taking on catastrophic flooding and generational damage from Hurricane Harvey for the duration of last weekend, all eyes were rightfully focused on that region heading into this week. The storm is […]

Reliability, Process, and Maintenance Symposium in Kalamazoo The Reliability, Process, and Maintenance (RPM) Symposium will take place September 27th and 28th in Kalamazoo, Mich., this year. Familiar names from the pages of EA will be present, including Howard Penrose, who will speak during the kick-off presentation Wednesday 9/27. The event is sponsored by Siemens and HECO, with […]

West Virginia repair and machine shop closing after 80 years Kanawha Electric & Machine Co., of Charleston, W.V., announced last Thursday it will close its doors after 80 years of service. The business had been a maintenance stalwart, specializing in mining equipment but repairing motors of all kinds since 1937. It will now be forced to […]

This is what happens when repair is neglected Awaiting a complete system failure is the nightmare scenario at the Arizona State Museum, where much of the electrical equipment has been in the basement, unchanged since the 1930s. The museum commemorating state history lies on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson. In its […]

Preformed Windings announces North American expansion English coil manufacturer Preformed Windings has announced it will open a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. to supply rapid response coils for medium and high voltage applications. For our regular readers, this is the second onshore plant opening we’ve reported on in this newsletter in as many weeks. […]

K.C. electrical service company now does restaurants Many companies are looking for new ways to expand their business and diversify. One way is to develop a presence in selected industries. Restaurants, for one, have specialized lighting, commercial-grade appliances, sophisticated sound equipment and other electrical devices that require special attention. Tann Electric, the Lenexa, Kan., electrical company, […]

U.S.’s first offshore wind farm needs turbine repairs It wouldn’t be a true ‘first’ without a few hiccups. The United States’ first offshore wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island encountered its first troubleshoot Monday in the form of a downed turbine. One of the five General Electric 6MW Haliade turbines installed at Deepwater Wind’s Block […]